Some teams of the Pro B South and North were playing for all the marbles as there was a real fight for the position 4 and last home court spot in the playoffs as well as for the last playoff spot at position 8. However for the Dragons Rhondorf and Team Ehingen, the last game day was meaningless for them in the standings as Rhondorf had secured position 1 and Ehingen had been saved to stay in the league. Even with a loss and Schwenningen win, Ehingen would remain at postion 12 because they had swept the season series. However for the Dragons Rhondorf, this game did mean something as they have been banged up for weeks and had lost 3 of their last 4 games and wanted to go into the post season on a positive note with a win. Two weeks ago they had lost in Frankfurt on a bitter buzzer beater and last weekend had given an unacceptable performance in Speyer losing 95-76. However on the last game day, the Dragons Rhondorf gave an incredible offensive performance and shaped up their defense in the second half blowing out Team Ehingen 106-74. “We gave a good team effort. We did a good job sharing the ball and giving 37 assists. If we can keep doing that, it will be hard to beat us. It was fun out there”, warned Dragons Rhondorf guard Badu Buck (195-SG-1999). Team Ehingen were missing 3 starters and did all they could offensively, but defensively just weren´t on the same page and couldn´t slow down the Dragons consistently. “We had a lot of young guys get many minutes. They played hard. But Rhondorf just played smart and efficient and had more experience. But I feel like our young guys handled themselves well”, stressed Team Ehingen forward Adam Thoseby.

Daniel Zacek from outside

Team Ehingen were without 3 key players with Jorke Aav, Valteri Mervola and Jared Grey while the Dragons Rhondorf were without Janne Muller who had competed at the Albert Schweizer tournament and Leon Bulic. Team Ehingen jumped all over the Dragons Rhondorf first as they took a quick 10-4 advantage. Adam Thoseby found his offensive rhythm quickly scoring 5 points while ex Tuebingen guard Daniel Zacek added a trey and German big man Vincent Neugebauer made a lay in. Ehingen came into the game aggressive at both ends while Rhondorf seemed a bit shocked. However in basketball, the tide can change so rapidly and did for the Dragons Rhondorf as ex Paderborn guard Badu Buck ignited for 2 three´s to dead lock the game at 10-10. The game remained tight a little bit longer as Thoseby and Zacek scored again for the 15-14 Ehingen advantage. However the Dragons Rhondorf then displayed how lethal their offense can be scooting out on a 16-5 run to lead 28-20. In the run Rhondorf let it ran three´s from ex Bamberg guard Tyrese Blunt, Matej Silic and ex Orange Academy guard Marko Rosic. Thoseby continued to be aggressive and added 4 more points to keep Team Ehingen in range trailing 30-23. “We knew that Thoseby could play like that. We could of done a better job on him. He is a guy that needs the ball in his hands. We needed to have stopped him better as a team”, stressed Badu Buck. The Dragons Rhondorf shot 41% from the field and 33% from outside and had 13 rebounds and 0 turnovers while Team Ehingen shot 64% from the field and 67% from outside and had 7 rebounds and 4 turnovers.

Antonio Pilipovic at the FT line

In the second quarter the Dragons Rhondorf continued to execute their offense very well scoring 35 points and defensively still allowed too many points, but at the break they had a comfortable 19 point lead. Team Ehingen came out strong cutting the Dragons lead down to 35-32 getting 2 buckets from German Finn Doentgens where Rhondorf did a bad job denying and guarding the entry pass better and Thoseby dropped a trey and Zacek a runner. Rhondorf held on to the lead getting a Buck lay in, but Ehingen did a great job getting their bigs involved as Neugebauer scored twice as Rhondorf had the slim 37-36 advantage. However the Dragons Rhondorf then exploded again and went on a 19-5 run to now to really open up the game leading 56-41. In the run, it was superb role player Mamadou Diallo who added 11 points including a trey and 4 mid distance shots. Rhondorf showed their depth and ability to get everyone involved. Marko Rosic also added a three pointer, Antonio Pilipovic a finger tip lay in and Buck a turn around shot. Team Ehingen´s lack of experience showed on the defensive end as they couldn´t slow down the superb team play of the Dragons. Thoseby continued to be a walking bucket adding 2 scores as nobody could slow him down. “I was motivated to play. Rhondorf is the best team and I wanted to help my team get going. I picked my spots well. It helps when you hit your first shots. Then the hole looks big”, smiled Adam Thoseby. The Dragons continued to share the ball beautifully getting baskets from their bench as 2019 NBBL finalist Jekabs Beck scored and Matej Silic also scored as Rhondorf led 65-46 at the break. “Diallo was great. I like him and really value his game. He never has an excuse, but just comes to work and does his job. He is a good teammate and deserved the start tonight”, added Badu Buck. The Dragons Rhondorf shot 55% from the field and 40% from the three point line and had 21 rebounds and 3 turnovers while Team Ehingen shot 54% from the field and 58% from the three point line and had 17 rebounds and 11 turnovers.

Finn Doentgens at the FT line

In the third quarter the Dragons Rhondorf polished up their defense and led by 30 points after 30 minutes. Thoseby got Team Ehingen on the board first with a trey to trail 65-48. Rhondorf then went on a 7-0 run sparked by three´s by Buck and Texas native Avery Sullivan to lead 72-48. After a 20 footer by Thoseby, Rhondorf went on another run of 7-0 to lead 79-52. In the run, it was the superb guard duo of Buck (5 points) and Blunt who carried the Dragons. Team Ehingen didn´t share the ball anymore and were just sloppy on offense coughing up the ball. Team Ehingen had no offensive rhythm and continued to allow runs of Rhondorf. After a Jeno Pildner lay in, the Dragons Rhondorf closed out the third quarter with a 8-2 run to lead 87-57 after 30 minutes. In the run the Dragons Rhondorf continued to get good looks from outside as Beck and Blunt scored. Ferenc Gille also added a lay in. “We defended the way we wanted to and helped us to continue our offense well. We were able to extend our lead”, stated Badu Buck. “They had a deeper rotation. They overran us and we ran out of gas. They had more gas”, stated Adam Thoseby. The Dragons Rhondorf shot 55% from the field and 50% from the parking lot and had 32 rebounds and 8 turnovers while Team Ehingen shot 45% from the field and 37% from the parking lot and had 26 rebounds and 17 turnovers.

Avery Sullivan

The game was decided after 30 minutes and in the fourth quarter both teams took their feet off the gas pedal as there was less scoring. When you lead by so much, the concentration wanes a bit and the Dragons Rhondorf got their first field goal at the 7,23 minute mark as Silic scored and Rhondorf led 91-61. Team Ehingen answered with a mini 4-0 run as Neugebauer scored inside. The German big man did a consistent job finding his spots and using his body to his advantage shooting 45% from the field. Thoseby added a trey as the guests trailed 93-66. However the Dragons Rhondorf wanted to give their fans one last regular season offensive explosion going on a massive 13-0 run to extend their lead to 106-66. In the run, the Dragons Rhondorf let it fly again from the parking lot getting 3 three´s from Rosic, Pilipovic and Beck and young German Dyami Janeck scored his first Pro B points. Team Ehingen closed out the game strong with a 9-0 run as Jeno Pildner added 7 points and Leon Geissler a lay in. “Pildner did a good job. He was aggressive. This was the first time he got a good chunk of the minutes. He really showed what he could do”, commented Adam Thoseby. “When you lead by a lot, you lose some air. We may have gotten tired. But we still defended well as a team in the second half”, expressed Badu Buck. The Dragons Rhondorf were led by Badu Buck with 21 points while Mamdou Diallo added 17 points and Marko Rosic had 15 points while Team Ehingen were led by Adam Thoseby with 32 points and Vincent Neugebauer had 10 points and 10 rebounds. The Dragons Rhondorf shot 51% from the field and 47% from outside and had 44 rebounds and 12 turnovers while Team Ehingen shot 43% from the field and 38% from outside and had 36 rebounds and 23 turnovers.